Estonia has invited Kenya’s public and private sector players to learn more about e-government benefits by logging into Estonia Briefing Centre portal, which promotes Estonia’s innovations and fosters international business connections for local ICT companies.
This is part of Estonia’s global campaign to celebrate the final step towards 100 percent digitization of its government services.
Joel Karubiu, Estonia’s Export advisor in Kenya and Eastern Africa said that Kenya has made significant strides to ensure that many of the citizen services can be accessed digitally explaining that for Estonia, they began with issuance of digital identity cards(e-IDs) for all its nationals 20 years ago and has been the cornerstone of the country’s e-state activities.
“The e-ID and its ecosystem are used by citizens’ for daily transactions from paying bills, voting online, signing contracts, shopping, accessing health information, and much more. Some other interesting services handled online in Estonia include the E-marriage which enables people to get married by submitting a marriage application online via the e-population register,” he said.
In launching the global campaign to celebrate achievement of 100 percent Digital Government Services, Estonia said Kenya’s public and private sector players could tap into this achievement to explore business partnerships with their Estonia counterparts.
“In Kenya, we have made significant strides to ensure that many of the citizen services can be accessed digitally,’’ said Mr. Karubiu.
As of December 2024, every service in Estonia – even filing for divorce – is completed online, marking a new era in citizen-centric governance. This achievement positions Estonia as a global leader in digital governance and sets a benchmark for nations worldwide.
“Estonia is with me, everywhere,” said Kersti Kaljulaid, former President of Estonia. “Whether signing state documents from Antarctica or voting on a bus in Luxembourg, I have never felt cut off as a citizen, no matter where I have been. Estonia has proven that the red tape so many accept as inevitable is not necessary—we’ve fixed it. We remain committed to leading the way in building an even more seamless digital future.”
Kaljulaid said that among the 5,000 government services available online via the e-citizen portal in Kenya include registration of birth, search for company records, processing a passport, visa applications, and making payments for government services. The key to this success is premised on the interoperability of various systems that includes cashless payments for the services rendered.
Karubiu notes several things that have helped Estonia in this journey include the state-issued digital identity for all its nationals. This electronic identity system, called e-ID, has existed for over 20 years and is a cornerstone of the country’s e-state.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
